1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display system and image display method for providing an observer with virtual space image information over real space image information at a given viewpoint.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, a mixed reality system provides a user with a synthesized image by merging a real space image and a virtual space image created in accordance with a user's viewpoint and a user's viewing direction. A mixed reality system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-136706 can provide an observer with a feeling that a virtual object actually exists in a real space such that the user can perform more real observation with a sense of actual size than a conventional virtual reality system (VR system).
On the other hand, designing forms and creating designs using a three-dimensional CAD (which will be called 3D-CAD) are going mainstream so far in design/manufacturing fields. The predominant methods for evaluating an object designed by a 3D-CAD includes a method for visually evaluating data (solid data) created by a 3D-CAD, which is displayed on a screen of a computer as three-dimensional computer graphics (called 3D-CD, hereinafter) and a method for creating a simple prototype (simple mock-up) by using a rapid prototyping apparatus for visual and tactile evaluation.
However, the method in which 3D-CAD data is displayed as 3D-CG on a screen of a computer can provide evaluation in a virtual space but cannot provide evaluation of an object in a real space with a sense of actual size. The method in which a simple prototype (simple mock-up) is created by using a rapid prototyping apparatus is effective for recognizing a rough form but does not reconstruct detail information, such as design and/or form details and colors, designed under 3D-CAD, due to limitations in processing accuracy, material and so on. Therefore, a method for evaluating design data in a more finished form has been demanded.